The present invention relates to an injection-molding system and method.
Injection-molding machines are commonly used to manufacture plastic components. Injection-molding machines are complex, expensive machines that melt the plastic and inject it into a mold. Each machine is generally sized to produce and deliver a shot of plastic no larger than a maximum size. For example, one machine may be sized to deliver no more than 100 ounces of plastic, while another machine may be capable of delivering 200 ounces. Thus, to produce a product that requires 150 ounces of plastic, a machine that has a capacity of at least 150 ounces would be required.
In addition, injection-molding machines are often arranged to produce one part from one material. To vary the material generally requires a reconfiguration of the machine resulting in undesirable downtime.
Also, a typical machine has a clamping device that holds the mold shut during the injection process. The amount of material that can be injected into the mold at any one time is limited by the capacity of the clamping device.